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IAAF Should Suspend Russian Athletics Federation; Myanmar Announces Some Early Election Results; Russia Audits Sharm el-Sheikh Airport Security; Shooting Spree at Police Training Facility in Jordan; Missouri Football Players Strike over Racism on Campus; Obama, Netanyahu Meet to Try to Repair Relations; Starbucks' New Cup Stirs Up Conflict. Aired 10-11a ET

Aired November 09, 2015 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[10:00:00]

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LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

We start with the release of a long-awaited report on doping in athletics. The details are damning and could have a profound impact on the future of

Russian athletics. Recommendations include suspension from upcoming competitions and lifetime bans for some athletes.

"WORLD SPORT's" Alex Thomas joins us now from London.

Alex, such disturbing findings from this commission. Even they said it's worse than they first thought.

ALEX THOMAS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It has implications not just for athletics in Russia but also for all sports globally. Interpol

have already chipped in the last hour to say they will increase the scope of any investigations globally and we know as well that Dick Pound, the

chairman of the WADA independent commission has been looking into findings from a German -- looking into allegations from a German TV documentary last

December.

It had quite a narrow remit, nonetheless has hinted at some of the implications beyond the sport of athletics and beyond Russia as well,

saying no reason to believe athletics is the only sport in Russia to have been affected.

But the top line, as you say, Lynda, is that this WADA commission has accused Russian athletics of "state-sponsored doping," was the phrase that

he confirmed when asked by journalists.

The report says there's a deep-rooted, deeply rooted culture of cheating and, as you say, five athletes and their coaches have recommended lifetime

bans and also the recommendation, a very strong recommendation is that Russia's athletics federation should be suspended immediately, causing a

huge question mark over their participation in next year's Rio Olympic Games -- Lynda.

KINKADE: And, Alex, some have already made comparisons between this and the FIFA scandal. One of the coauthors of this report said in both cases

there were allegations of money laundering and corruption.

But in this instance the corruption actually affects those, the results of the competition.

So what does that mean for the athletes that may have come second or third behind Russian athletes?

THOMAS: There's no doubt that one of the implications could well be going back and retesting samples. Athletics is one of those sports that has a

blood passport system, which means that samples aren't just tested at the time and then thrown away; they are frozen and kept to be analyzed later.

For example, if new technology comes in, they can pick up drugs that were previously undetectable.

Or in this case, as far as the commission's report is concerned, it does talk about the London 2012 Olympics, seen as one of the most successful

ever Summer Games and actually run by Seb Coe, the current president of the IAAF, track and field's beleaguered governing body.

And the report says that London 2012 was more or less sabotaged by allowing Russian athletes to compete when they should have been suspended. Because

of doping, Russia finished fourth in the overall medals table and there'll be plenty athletes denied gold, silver or bronze by Russians who could yet

get a medal.

Of course, it's a bittersweet moment when you receive a medal retrospectively instead of having the glory of standing on the podium and

receiving the accolade at the crowd -- Lynda.

KINKADE: And, Alex, speaking of the president, Sebastian Coe, he did actually call the outgoing president Diack "a spiritual leader" when he

resigned back in August.

Do you think he regrets those comments now, given the investigation and the findings today?

THOMAS: We should find out in the next couple of hours because he's due to CNN. We'll certainly put that question to him. Certainly the tone of Seb

Coe's official tweets as IAAF president on Sunday, a few days after French authorities confirmed they had placed Lamine Diack under formal

investigation, were very different from those comments earlier in the year, when he said that his sport was under attack from the media.

After another German TV documentary by the same broadcaster had further allegations in August. Remember the last one last December was the one

that prompted this WADA commission. There's huge pressure onto Seb Coe; there's no doubt to try and reform athletics. He said he's the man for the

job.

He's succeeded Diack in the presidential election back in August. He has been backed by Dick Pound today, the chairman of WADA's independent

commission but at the same time Pound did put pressure on Coe and the IAAF to suspend Russian athletics. When we know a day earlier Coe had said he

was against doing that.

I think the suspicion is going to be that they will help Russia reform its anti-doping program with a view to maybe giving it a pass and allowing the

athletes to compete at the Rio Olympics next year.

KINKADE: OK. Alex Thomas in London, thank you for bringing us up to date with those findings.

We're going to now look at the reaction in Moscow. Our Matthew Chance is standing by.

Matthew, this commission was formed back in December after a German TV report found that 99 percent of athletes in --

[10:05:00]

KINKADE: -- Russia had been accused of covering up doping.

What is the reaction there?

What are people saying?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the reaction has been very muted so far. I think that people who have been watching

this story unfold in Russia, it doesn't come altogether unexpected because there was that documentary almost a year ago on that German television

channel which, as you said, accused 99 percent of Russian athletes from doping and also went on to accuse Russian officials of covering up that

doping as well and being complicit in it.

So that's very much the findings of this report by the world doping agency as well. There's been some reaction from the Russian sports ministry; it's

being quoted on Russian state media. Vitaly Mutko, who is the minister of sport here in Russia, saying this, and it's been translated from the

Russian, that the world doping agency commission "has no right to dismiss anybody from further athletic competitions." Remember, reminding that it's

just a recommendation that Russia be suspended from future competitions.

"The only recommendations" it says, "given to us, the sports ministry here in Russia, will issue a full statement later on."

And so nothing very explanatory from the Russian ministry of sport but they're saying they will give us more details later on.

But obviously this is an enormous story. Russia is, remember, an athletic superpower. Back in the Olympics in London in 2012, it came second in the

medal table after United States as well. So it's a major power when it comes to athletics and other sports as well.

So this recommendation from the world doping agency will come as a major blow to people in this country and to the athletes and of course to the

government as well.

KINKADE: That's a good point you made, that these are just recommendations at this stage. We'll have to see what is implemented. Matthew Chance in

Moscow, thank you very much.

We will have more on the anti-doping agency's report in "WORLD SPORT" just in half an hour from now.

Now we are awaiting official outcome of Myanmar's most significant election in generations. Based on early results, one of the world's most enduring

icons of democracy could finally have a leadership role in a country she's fought so hard to change. We're talking about Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel

Peace Prize winner and resistance leader who spent more than 10 years under house arrest.

But it's important to remember that the country's military leaders are still in charge. So anything is possible. Senior international

correspondent Ivan Watson has been following this election from Yangon. And he joins us now.

Ivan, Suu Kyi's party has already claimed a landslide victory.

How is it looking?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we only have a fraction of the results from the election that have officially been

announced. But that hasn't stopped thousands of people here in front of the headquarters of the main opposition party, the National League for

Democracy, from celebrating and blocking traffic here, singing, waving flags.

A lot of euphoria, a lot of excitement. In fact, only, again, a handful of seats, their results have been announced. The NLD officially has won 25

seats out of more than 490 that were contested. The fact of the matter, though, is that the ruling, the ruling party, the USDP, which enjoys the

support of the military, its chairman has effectively conceded defeat, saying his party lost more of the contests than it won.

And he conceded that he himself lost his bid for a seat in parliament. Meanwhile the NLD, the party of the iconic opposition leader, Aung San Suu

Kyi, its spokesman has told CNN that they have scored a landslide victory. They are claiming they won 80 percent of the vote. They are claiming that

they won 44 out of 45 seats that were up for grabs here in Yangon, the commercial capital, the largest city in Myanmar.

And they are basing the results, their claims, on individual polling results from all over the country. Of course, at the rate we're getting

official announcements, it's probably going to still take some time before official results are announced here -- Lynda.

KINKADE: Ivan, it does sound like there's huge celebrations going on behind you. We have to remember this country has been one military rule

for so long. Incumbent leader President Thein Sein alluded to an Arab Spring-like uprising, should Aung San Suu Kyi's party win.

What can we expect once the results are confirmed?

[10:10:00]

WATSON: A spokesman for the president, who is a former general, the spokesman did suggest that, you know, democratic transition in Myanmar has

to go somewhat slowly. Look what's happened at the Arab Spring countries. Look what tumult and conflict and bloodshed has erupted in most of the

countries that fought popular street movements.

But the people here, of course, anybody you talk to, say, we suffered underneath the iron fist underneath the boots of the military dictatorship

that ruled this country more than half a century.

One man yelled out to our team, "This is no longer just in our dreams."

So, the people here say they have suffered and many of them fervently believe that it was only through an election that they could receive real

change in this country, see an end to the military domination of this country.

But it's still important to note, the constitution that rules this country was written by the generals in 2008. And even if, in fact, this party won

a landslide victory, according to official results, the generals are here to stay. They will not be gone. They will still have a significant amount

of power in whatever future government comes into power here in Myanmar -- Lynda.

KINKADE: That's a very good point. Ivan Watson, we appreciate your staying across it all for us. Thank you very much.

Still to come, Russia reviews securing Egypt and wreckage of Metrojet 9268. We'll have the latest from Sharm el-Sheikh.

Plus critics say Starbucks' new holiday cups don't say enough about the reason for the season.

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

Support is growing for the theory that a bomb caused a Russian airliner to crash in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula just over a week ago. Russian state media

say experts there are now testing wreckage for traces of explosives and results could come in a matter of days.

The 224 people killed in that crash were mostly Russian tourists, heading home from the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. Russian experts are also

conducting an audit of security at Sharm el-Sheikh's airport. Our Nima Elbagir is following developments there and she joins us now.

Nima, for days British authorities have been working alongside Egyptians at the airport there. Now Russia has sent its own inspectors. Certainly this

points to grave concerns about a lack of security.

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, especially when it's taken in tandem with the restrictions on taking on --

[10:15:00]

ELBAGIR: -- into the hold any luggage. This is something we've seen put in place by the Brits, by the Russians, in fact, by all the carriers flying

out of this airport. So it does start to build a picture or consolidate further the possibility, the growing consensus, that was indeed an act of

terror.

But of course, until the investigation issues its findings, we won't know for sure and it's that investigation, the timeline of it, that's the

current focal point.

We've been hearing from the head of the investigations committee that there have been concerns about adverse weather conditions and how that's delayed

investigators' access to the site. The ultimate hope is, Lynda, that they will be able to get the remains of the flight back to Cairo into more

sterile and more controllable conditions and really be able to have a full look at them there to glean what they can.

KINKADE: And, Nima, looking at this theory of a bomb, ISIS, of course, continues to claim that they are responsible but, unlike so many other acts

of terror, they haven't posted one of their slickly produced videos showing how it was done.

What can you tell us about its affiliate in the Sinai Peninsula?

ELBAGIR: Well, they were very quick off the mark to claim responsibility for this and said that essentially they didn't need to post any evidence.

And the Egyptian government has consistently refuted the likelihood that this was indeed an act of terror, let alone an act of terror perpetrated by

ISIS in the Sinai.

The concern is, though, that, given all reports the we're hearing and all the briefing from various Western sources that this -- that this picture

that's growing, that it was an act of terror, is based on the interception of so-called chatter by the Israelis in the Sinai.

Then you start looking at who could have possibly perpetrated that attack and be within the territorial lands of the Sinai Peninsula. And then ISIS

looks like the most likely, the most likely possibility. But of course, nothing is for sure yet -- Lynda.

KINKADE: That is true. Nima Elbagir in Sharm el-Sheikh, thank you very much.

Two Americans and a South African are dead after a shooting spree at a police training facility in Jordan. The shooter, a Jordanian police

officer, is also dead. Phil Black is following this story from London and joins us now.

Phil, details have been trickling in over the last couple of hours.

What can you tell us?

PHIL BLACK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, the death toll from this particular event has now gone up by one. So in addition to two United

States civilians, the South African and the Jordanian shooter, the police officer responsible for this, another Jordanian civilian is listed among

the dead as well. So those four victims were all civilian contractors working at this particular police training center.

The shooter was a police officer and a former staff member at the training, at this particular training camp itself as well. At some point he's gone

on a rampage. He's shot dead those four people. A number of other people have been injured. But the man responsible for these deaths was eventually

shot by other Jordanian security forces there as well -- Lynda.

KINKADE: And, Phil, what can you tell us about his possible motivation?

What your learning?

BLACK: According to U.S. sources they said this man had been fired recently, putting personal grievance at the center of a possible

motivation. This is backed up by Jordanian government officials, who say that, yes, they believe personal motivations are at play. They do not

suspect that he had any links to any particular known organization.

That said, even if you put personal motivation at the front of any particular inquiry, it doesn't necessarily rule out the possibility that

he's been radicalized or had some affiliation or sympathy for another group and there's a reason to keep open-minded about this and that is the day.

Today is the 10th anniversary of what is often considered Jordan's 9/11, the coordinated suicide attacks against three Amman hotels that killed

around 60 people. So that is being commemorated in Jordan today while that man, that former police officer, was going on his shooting rampage --

Lynda.

KINKADE: A real shock there in Jordan today. Phil Black, thanks for bringing us up to date on that developing story. We will talk to you very

soon.

Still to come, a new twist on the issue of racism in America. Players on the University of Missouri football team are going on strike over some

hate-filled incidents on the campus. Now professors and other academics could be joining them.

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

Players on the University of Missouri football team are refusing to play until measures are taken to end racist incidents on the campus. The

school's president has stepped down and looks like they are getting support form some of the faculty. Coy Wire has more the growing controversy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COY WIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Missouri football's African American players joining the deafening call, demanding Mizzou president Tim

Wolfe resign over the way they say he's failed to handle matters of alleged racism and discrimination at the university.

The athletes tweeting they would boycott football activities until Wolfe is removed. Their coach, Gary Pinkel, tweeting this photo with his players,

arms locked in unity with white students.

"The Mizzou family stands as one. We're united. We're behind our players."

One grad student even beginning a hunger strike against the school's president.

(AUDIO GAP)

WIRE (voice-over): No indication that he intends to step down but meeting with several University officials Sunday night hours after releasing a

statement that read, in part, "It is clear to all of us that change is needed. My administration has been doing a tremendous amount of reflection

on how to address these complex matters."

Tensions on campus brewing for months, escalating since September after protesters say Wolfe failed to respond to several alleged incidents of

racial abuse, including students openly using racial slurs.

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KINKADE: Now Coy Wire joins us with more on all of this. Thanks very much for coming to the studio.

WIRE: My pleasure.

KINKADE: Now these players are considering boycotting the game this weekend. Just for our international audience, just explain how lucrative

is this game.

WIRE: College football, especially in the South, is huge here in the States. And this game alone, this game has been reported that if Missouri

does not attend, if they can't play the game, the university could lose $1 million. Those are big figures and big dollars.

When you talk about, as a whole, the athletic department, last year, Lynda, that athletic department brought in $83 million for the school.

So when you start talking about the lifeline financially for a university, it's a serious issue. And it's no wonder we have the support of the head

coach, of the entire athletic department for the university, coming forward, saying they support those players, who are making this bold move.

KINKADE: Now these players, of course, want the president to stand down. We know that the board are going to meet shortly.

What can we expect to come out of that meeting?

WIRE: Just about 30 minutes from now the board of curators will have a private meeting. In that I would imagine they will come out saying

publicly, look, there's a racial issue happening on our campus. As the governor of the state has already come out and said, as now the university

president has finally publicly said, there are racial issues. I think that's first and foremost.

I think secondly, they are going announce some sort of plan. There's a list of demands that's come out. They probably will address some of those

and speak to how they will continue ongoing --

[10:25:00]

WIRE: -- have ongoing conversations about how they can start to create positive change where clearly it's needed -- Lynda.

KINKADE: And, obviously as we heard in your report, these students are taking this very seriously. One has gone on a hunger strike.

WIRE: Eight days now.

KINKADE: What other demands are they making?

WIRE: I have a list here. There's about eight of them. I'll just give you a few.

First, they want Tim Wolfe, the university president, to have a handwritten apology and to read it at a public press conference.

Secondly, they want the university to create racial awareness by including a curriculum that will help talk about these issues.

And also they want to increase the percentage of black faculty and staff by 10 percent.

When you look at the population of students there, it's a 35-000 student campus, only 7 percent of them are African American, they feel they are

underrepresented and they are taking these bold statements to make change.

KINKADE: Huge story. We're following those developments. And we hope to speak to you soon about it. Thanks very much for joining us.

WIRE: Appreciate it.

KINKADE: Coy Wire there.

Still ahead, the last meeting was icy at best. Ahead, what Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, hopes to achieve as he meets with U.S.

President Barack Obama.

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KINKADE: Hello and welcome to the INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Lynda Kinkade. And here are the headlines.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE (voice-over): A report recommends Russia be suspended from upcoming athletic competitions for widespread doping violations. The

report finds independent commission calls for lifetime bans for five Russian athletes.

[10:30:00]

KINKADE (voice-over): Commission chairman Dick Pound says findings uncovered, quote, "a deep-rooted culture of cheating at all levels in

Russia."

A Jordanian police officer has killed two American contractors and a South African at a police training facility near Amman. The prime minister's

office said security forces killed the officer. A U.S. official tells CNN the officer had been fired from his job.

Initial results are trickling in from Myanmar's landmark parliamentary election. Ballots are still being counted by the election officials, say

the first batch of results show Aung San Suu Kyi's opposition party has won 12 seats of the hundreds up for grabs.

Russia says the remains of more than 100 victims of the Metrojet crash have been identified through DNA testing. Russian state media say experts there

are now testing wreckage for traces of explosives. Results could come in a matter of days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: U.S. President Barack Obama is hosting Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House a short time from now. They are

expected to discuss how to stabilize relations with the Palestinians and outline a 10-year U.S. aid package for Israel.

The White House has said the visit reflects the deep, enduring bonds between the two countries.

This is, of course, the first official meeting between Mr. Netanyahu and Mr. Obama in more than a year and the first since the Iran nuclear deal,

which caused a lot of friction between the two leaders.

Our Oren Liebermann has more now on their chilly relationship.

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OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just when you thought it couldn't get worse, another blow to strained relations between Prime

Minister Netanyahu and President Obama days before the two leaders meet in Washington, revelations that Netanyahu's new appointment as media adviser,

Ron Baratz, accused Obama of anti-Semitism on Facebook back in March in the run-up to the Iran framework agreement and one said U.S. secretary of state

John Kerry had a future in stand-up comedy.

Baratz apologized and Netanyahu said he will, quote, "clarify the matter" but the damage was done. A seven-year relationship between Netanyahu and

Obama has only grown worse in recent months.

Earlier this year Netanyahu made what critics called an unprecedented intervention in U.S. foreign policy, speaking before Congress without a

White House invitation and criticized Obama's signature Iran nuclear deal, sparking a very public and, at times, acrid feud between the leaders.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The importance of this meeting is that it passes without further skirmishes between Netanyahu and Obama that are harmful to

the U.S.-Israeli relationship and to both countries.

LIEBERMANN (voice-over): Both leaders have tried to downplay the frosty relationship, saying the cooperation between the countries is far more

important.

Hours before his scheduled departure to Washington, Netanyahu said this meeting will be about all-important American aid to Israel. The U.S. gives

some $3 billion in military aid and that will soon include America's latest fighter jet, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Kerry highlighted this aid to

Israel when he spoke in Philadelphia in September in defense of the Iran deal. But that military aid is set to expire in 2018 and Netanyahu could

use this chance to push for a bigger aid package.

As for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a big issue for Kerry, a top White House adviser said there probably won't be any real peace negotiations

before the end of Obama's time in office.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KINKADE: And Oren Liebermann joins me now live from Jerusalem for more on all of this.

And, Oren, the first meeting since Mr. Netanyahu criticized the Iran deal and now Israel will be asking for an extension of U.S. funding.

How will that play out?

LIEBERMANN: Well, in a word, Lynda, this will happen slowly. Netanyahu knows and we're not expecting any big announcements coming out of this

meeting, any numbers or any figures like that, but this is the long game for Netanyahu. He knows the current 10-year deal is up in 2018. So he

will start lobbying now.

He really hasn't brought it up until recently, until the Iran deal was signed. Before that, he was criticizing the deal. Once the deal was

signed, once there's nothing more really to argue about there, he switched his focus to talking about the future and that's where this military aid

package comes into play.

He could ask for $4 billion or even $5 billion a year. We'll see how that plays out. But once again, this isn't expected to happen today and it

won't be some big announcement that comes out of the meeting that should start any moment now -- Lynda.

KINKADE: And, Oren, how would you describe the relationship between Mr. Obama and Mr. Netanyahu currently?

Some have described it as cold and transactional and the worst relationship between the two leaders of these countries in two decades.

LIEBERMANN: Well, we've heard that comparison a number of times by a number of analysts, saying these two just don't get along. They both have,

it seems, have gone out of their way in recent months to point out the relationship between countries, which is military cooperation, strategic

coordination, that remains strong even if these two guys simply don't like each other.

But this is the opportunity to at least show that they are getting along. It'll depend on what comes out of the statement. Now they are not taking

any questions --

[10:35:00]

LIEBERMANN: -- or at least they're not expected to take any questions. So we'll see what they choose to say as both of these leaders essentially try

to move on and show perhaps to an extent that they can simply work together and get along. Netanyahu knows very well that Obama has just over one more

year in office.

KINKADE: OK. Oren Liebermann in Jerusalem. We'll come back to you when those remarks take place. Thank you very much.

Just ahead, there's more than coffee brewing at Starbucks. There's also controversy because some say their holiday season cups aren't Christmassy

enough. Stay with us.

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KINKADE: Welcome back.

U.S. Republican presidential contender Donald Trump got a lot of attention over the weekend as host of "Saturday Night Live." Now some critics say

his performance did not live up to the hype but the episode still brought in the show's biggest ratings since 2012.

Surprisingly, the normally outspoken candidate decided some sketches were too extreme even for him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, ENTREPRENEUR: Well they were a little bit too far. You know it is "Saturday Night Live" and it's a lot of fun and people understand it

gets a little risque and we took out a couple of them that I thought maybe went a little too far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KINKADE: The show wasn't without controversy. Hundreds of people, offended by Trump's comments on immigration, protested outside NBC

headquarters.

Critics say Starbucks is joining a war on Christmas. That's after the coffee chain unveiled its new holiday themed cups with none of the usual

Christmas markings. Our Cristina Alesci has more from New York on this.

Cristina, is this a case of political correctness gone mad?

CRISTINA ALESCI, CNNMONEY CORRESPONDENT: This is really a case of the fervor online really not matching up with the level of changes that

Starbucks has put forth on these cups. You know, last year there was only a slight suggestion of a Christmas tree or Christmas ornament. This year

they got rid of it all together.

Look, I'm not defending the company in any kind of way but they say it's because they want to be more inclusive. So from Starbucks' standpoint, you

know, it's doing the right thing but this just goes to show you that if you're a big brand that people care about --

[10:40:00]

ALESCI: -- that you're not immune to even, you know, what you would consider small design changes. Look, who knows. Maybe the design team

even thought, you know, ombre was in this year and two tones are cool and we should go in that direction. You know it's kind of hard to say.

But to your point, the backlash has just been incredible. One former pastor that has about 1.8 million friends on Facebook said that, you know,

this is a symbol that Starbucks hates Jesus. So, you know, people have very passionate reactions to this.

KINKADE: It certainly has blown up online.

What are most of the customers saying about this?

Is it just a few that are outspoken?

ALESCI: It doesn't seem like -- look, it seems like there's more than a few online for sure that take offense to this.

But there are also those on social media that are saying look it's not that big of a deal and all of this is really just an overreaction. This is a

very different situation than the one that Starbucks had with its cups just a couple of months ago, what was called the Race Together campaign. That's

when Starbucks urged its baristas to start a conversation about race in the United States by writing "race together" on the cups.

That was something that Starbucks did very intentionally, very in your face and that took a lot of people by surprise and offended them because they

thought Starbucks was trying to start a conversation, you know, that had already been started nationally but really trying to capitalize on that on

social media. So this is a slightly different scenario.

So I don't think Starbucks will change -- in that case Starbucks said we'll stop writing "race together" on our cups. In this case I don't see

Starbucks backing down from the two-tone cup that they have out for the holiday season.

KINKADE: So many people say any publicity is good publicity. Maybe Starbucks likes all this talk about them.

ALESCI: Maybe. The one thing, being Starbucks, you know, the one thing that's fantastic is that people will pay attention to any little thing you

do. There are so many companies that wish that they can be part of the social media conversation and they wish they could be relevant to the

Millennials that are on social media.

This is, to your point, a little bit of a double-edged sword for Starbucks.

KINKADE: OK, Cristina Alesci in New York, thank you so much for joining us.

That does it for us here at INTERNATIONAL DESK. I'm Lynda Kinkade. "WORLD SPORT" with Alex Thomas is up next with much more on the anti-doping report

that calls for very tough penalties on Russian athletes.

END